Tag Archives: happiness

First off? CK at Bad Mommy Moments reminded me a few weeks ago (or was it months? Oh. How time flies!) how much I love the smell of freshly washed baby/kid hair with Johnson’s Baby Shampoo. It lowers my blood pressure. I had a bottle under the sink and I decided to heck with it saying “Baby” on the label. I’ll just sneak it onto my kid’s heads. I did. And they love the smell, too! Now they ask for the “orange shampoo.” A little bit of !!! for my week. Ahhhhhh.

Speaking of showering, I adore Noxzema. The original. In the pump. (Which I can’t find anymore in my local stores so I’m stuck with the cumbersome tub) I’ve tried the fancy stuff at the make-up counters. I’ve tried the not-as-fancy-but-still-more-expensive stuff at the drug stores. But good ol’ fashioned, plain, cheap Noxzema does it for me. Now, if someone can please tell me where I can find the orignal formula in the pump container again, my morning/evening ritual will be complete.

I have a killer banana bread recipe that actually slices like cake. It’s fairly low in sugar and my family loves it. Of course, we usually amp up the sugar content by covering a slice in cream cheese frosting, or like last night, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and then caramel sauce. Mmmmmmm. My over ripe bananas brought the whole family a little extra !!! this week.

Speaking of cooking, I found this cookbook at the library and I’ve been entranced. I enjoy cooking. I like a good cookbook. But The Amish Cook has been such an enjoyable read. Beautiful photography. Homey recipes. Interesting details and stories of Amish life. It’s been the kind of book where I set aside time during the day, get my glass of tea, curl up on the couch and just thumb through the pages, savoring every delicious word. I’ve already renewed it once. And I’m going to renew it again. Then, I’m going to have to buy my own copy.

The kids are home for the summer. I love my kids. I adore them. But underfoot 24/7? Driving me batty. Thank goodness for soccer camp. Three hours of !!!

I love to cook. I’m not a trained professional. Because my mother hated to cook, I’m self-taught. And because I’m cheap frugal, I don’t have a Kitchen Aid mixer or Cuisinart Food Processor. Sure, they’re on my wish list but who knows when I’ll break down and buy them. And my husband knows this. He knows I hesitate to buy myself anything or splurge on something frivolous.He saw me eyeing this…

…at Williams Sonoma. A salt-cellar. Whenever I use it, I feel like a chef. It feels decadent and fun. And I remember his sweet gesture.

But the south is where I call home. After all, I’ve lived here more than half my life. And I love it here. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

I say “y’all.” I eat collards and grits – by choice. I drink Sweet Tea. (Note the capitalized letters because it IS a drink like no other. Truly the champagne of the South.) I even give directions like the locals: “Turn right where the old A&P used to be and then go all the way past the Henderson’s Farm and turn left.”

But there are some oddities I have yet to get used to.

Churches in shopping malls. The phrase “fixin’ to” do something. Possum – the other white meat.

Family Shooting Ranges.

Yep. You read right. A family friendly shooting range. Opening up just 1 mile from our house. That’s what it said on the sign: Family Indoor Shooting Range. I nearabout ran off the road when I read it.

Sho’ nuff.

“Happiness is a warm gun”

Nothing says family like grabbin’ the ole .38 Special and heading out to the local shooting range.

Right?

“Bang Bang Shoot Shoot”

I mean, family and shooting in the same sentence?

Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit.

Who knew?

(This post is part of the Five For Ten project atMomalom. Please visit their site for more wonderful posts on Happiness. Or click the button below to find out how YOU can participate!)

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“Here is a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don’t worry be happy” – Everyone’s life contains sadness. Our home got another dose. My Great Aunt died last night. But please don’t be too sad for her, for us. She was sick. She was tired of living in a body that was failing her. When we last talked she told me she was ready.

“In every life we have some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don’t worry, be happy……” – And this was her philosophy EXACTLY. What’s the point of worrying. Life stinks sometimes. It’s how you work through life that builds character, makes you a person worth knowing.

“Here I give you my phone number
When you worry call me
I make you happy” – She was someone you could turn to. She gave great advice. She was so very, very wise.

“But don’t worry be happy
Cause when you worry
Your face will frown
And that will bring everybody down
So don’t worry, be happy” – Her laughter is what I’ll miss most. She could make ANYTHING funny. She taught me to think out of the box and look at things upside down. The bright side is the right side. Always looking up. She didn’t deny loss or sadness or crisis. She just saw a way around it. She got to the other side quicker than most.

“There is this little song I wrote
I hope you learn it note for note
Like good little children
Don’t worry, be happy” – Out of all my relatives she was the best teacher for me on how to parent. She has four children and grandchildren who absolutely adore her. In a post on Facebook today, her youngest son called her his best friend. And I know her other children feel the same way.

“Don’t worry don’t do it, be happy
Put a smile on your face” – And that’s just what I’m going to do today. I think of this song and listen to it whenever I need to turn myself around. Hope you find something to smile about today, too. Put those worries away and smile with me.

(When you click on the video below you’ll see a message directing you to Youtube. Click the “Watch on Youtube” and it’ll take you right there!)